Archive for April, 2014

This week is the anniversary of the formation of my teen group which currently consists of 10 high school girls! Every week I am blessed to lead such a cohesive and fun group of teens. It is amazing how much I learn from them (e.g. how many people make a 1.5 hour weekly commitment to better themselves!) I know how busy their schedules are and feel grateful that they have made the group a priority.

On a similar note, a friend of mine mentioned that she read somewhere that for people to avoid burnout, we need to set aside 9 hours a week just for ourselves. The 9 hours can be spread out throughout the week or a day off of work. The source of self-indulgence and relaxation could be reading a book, gardening, or napping with your cat. Assuming we do these things without ulterior gains, we can avoid depression, anxiety, stress, and behaviors that lead to trouble. Imagine feeling less irritated and overwhelmed with life’s curveballs if you make time to decompress. We need to set aside this time for ourselves just as much as we need to go to the dentist, get our oil change, and take the kids to practice.

So this post goes to my group members who remind me weekly how important it is to make yourself a priority. So today, on my birthday, I am doing nothing related to work. Phone is turned off, shutting off computer as soon as I send this, and enjoying the day with my wonderful husband and my menagerie of animals. Not a better way to celebrate!

One of the things I hear most often, (surprisingly not as a complaint however), is that the teens I work with are getting only 6 hours of sleep a night on average. And of course the usual culprits- anxiety and mobile devices. Teens are sleeping with their cell phones under their pillow or beside them often texting in the middle of the night.

Now, I run two businesses and I can assure you that even I do not have a reason to text someone at 3 in the AM! I finished reading an article this morning about this very issue which explained why technology disturbs our sleep. Basically, smart phones decrease levels of melatonin which serves as a sleeping hormone according to sleep studies done at Ohio State University. Here are some tips if you have trouble catching ZZZ’s:

1) Dimming the brightness on your phone, E-readers, or Laptop

2) Holding the E-reader at least 14 inches from your face to reduce the hormone disruption

3) Use a different method of morning alarm, or if you choose to use your cell at least move it across the room

4) Turn your cell phone off after 8 pm to avoid the temptation of responding

5) Use the sleep function on your TV or stereo so the inflections of light and sound don’t affect your sleep throughout the night

6) Avoid caffeine which will aid in reducing pre-bedtime anxiety and insomnia